A CALL FOR ACTION BY MEDICI PER I DIRITTI UMANI (MEDU) AND AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL ITALY

Two weeks after the tragic fire that destroyed the San Ferdinando shantytown and caused the death of a young woman, the institutions’ response remains outrageously lacking. A few days ago, the Ministry of the Interior hastily decided to transfer only 174 of the approximately 2,000 foreign workers of the affected area into a new tent city which lacks toilets, water and electricity. In the absence of alternatives, most people are still living in what is left of the old shantytown, which has been declared by the authorities at a serious health hazard due to high levels of toxic residue. In light of this crisis,  MEDU and Amnesty International Italy call on the responsible institutions to guarantee immediate, secure and dignified living conditions for all those affected.

Rosarno, 13 February 2018 – Two weeks after the fire that on the night between the 26th and 27th of January destroyed the San Ferdinando shantytown and caused the death of a 26-year-old woman,  the shameful inability of the institutions to provide urgent and concrete solutions in response to the dramatic housing and sanitary conditions that almost 2,000 foreign agricultural workers are forced to live in raises alarm and concern.

The Civil Protection Unit provided an emergency tent that could accommodate only 198 people in the hours immediately following the fire but this was dismantled in the morning of February 8^th. Only a part of those hosted were thereafter transferred to a new and nearby tent city set up with funds from the Ministry of the Interior. The new tent city is comprised of 29 tents that can accommodate up to only 174 people and that lack toilets, water and electricity. The tents are furthermore mounted on bare earth, in an area that is highly susceptible to flooding. Nevertheless, according to a report by ARPACAL (the Regional Agency for the Protection of the Environment of Calabria) delivered a few days ago to the Prefecture of Reggio Calabria, it is urgent to secure as soon as possible the old tent city area and to safeguard the lives of those who live there from the high degree of toxic residue “due to uncontrolled combustion of heterogeneous waste producing dioxins and other pollutants endangering human health.” Only two days before the new transfer, the associations operating in the Plain of Gioia Tauro were convened by the Extraordinary Government Commissioner and the Mayor of San Ferdinando – the only institutional interlocutors present – to be informed about the solutions identified by the institutions to immediately deal with the increasingly critical living conditions of the workers remaining in the old shantytown. On this occasion, MEDU and Amnesty International Italy, asked that the future structure would guarantee decent and adequate living conditions, including sanitary facilities, adequate heating of the housing units, presence of professionals with specific training, services of social and legal assistance, linguistic and cultural mediation and information regarding the rights of agricultural workers. Alas, nothing of this sort has been done yet.

The initiatives implemented thus far resemble a sort of patchwork of emergency solutions, which do not succeed in guaranteeing, even provisionally, adequate accommodation and safe living conditions for all those who reside in the industrial area of San Ferdinando. With just a few spots available, it has only been possible to provide a bed to those who were sleeping  in the Civil Protection tent (and probably not to everyone), leaving the inhabitants of the old tent city to sleep on plastic heaps and burnt rubber. Moreover, given the proximity to the area to be reclaimed, no guarantees have yet been given regarding the possible reach of the toxic residue.

Because of the concrete risks in terms of health and safety highlighted on several occasions by the institutions, MEDUand Amnesty International Italy strongly urge for a decent reception solution with adequate sanitary and safety standards in order to protect the health and the fundamental rights of every person living in the area.

Regarding the medium-term solution outlined by the institutions – a container camp in the contiguous territory of the municipality of Gioia Tauro, in the so-called “ex opera Sila” area –  MEDU and Amnesty International Italy request that information on the timing, the number of places available, the available economic resources and the general reception conditions to be provided immediately. Furthermore, while awaiting confirmation on the possibility of using the identified site by the municipality concerned, MEDU and Amnesty International Italy ask for guarantees regarding possible health risks due to the presence of an incinerator in the area. Finally, the concern remains that the isolation of the area, the absence of an adequate public transport system, the lack of a real commitment towards social inclusion, will lead to the emergence of another situation of exclusion, marginality and exploitation with inevitable consequences also in terms of social conflict.

Regarding the medium-long term solutions proposed, MEDU and Amnesty International Italy call for a concrete commitment to achieve the long-awaited goal of all institutions, that of widespread reception, which to date remains only an empty slogan with no content. In this respect, MEDU and Amnesty International Italy request that the modalities, timelines,  responsible institutional bodies and available funding be indicated. This solution can not naturally fall only within the territory of the municipalities of San Ferdinando and Rosarno but must extend to all the municipalities of the plain of Gioia Tauro through the coordination of the institutions involved, primarily the Calabria Region. It is of great  concern that the Region, responsible for the task of promoting ” policies of promotion and housing support for seasonal agricultural workers and initiatives aimed at encouraging their integration into the Gioia Tauro Plain”, is completely absent today.

Finally, it is opportune to involve the associations that for years have been working in close contact with migrant workers, especially the inhabitants of the tent cities, in planning and implementing the identified and shared solutions, in order to avoid further failures and tensions. It is also of primary importance to avoid any type of violent evacuation operations of the inhabitants.

Medici per i diritti umani – Medu  ( Physicians for Human Rights)  established the Terragiusta project in 2014. Campaign against the exploitation of migrant workers in agriculture. The partners of the two-year period 2016-18 are: Arci “Iqbal Masih” of Venosa, Flai-Cgil of Gioia Tauro, City of Rosarno, Terra! Onlus, Zalab, Amisnet / Echis, OIS- Osservatorio Internazionale per la Salute Onlus (International Observatory for Health Onlus)

This project was realized with the support of: Fondazione con il Sud; Fondazione Charlemagne; Open Society Foundations.